With one of the final competitions of the season set to take place this weekend out west, we have several individuals that punched their tickets for the opportunity to toe the line against some of the best in the country at Nike Cross Nationals.
Stevens Point
After another dominant season, the boys from Stevens Point made sure to keep the momentum going after the WIAA Division 1 XC State Championships, as they once again earned themselves a box at the starting line for this weekend at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland.
Led by the state-runner up and eighth place finisher at NXR Heartland Regional, Aloysius Franzen, they had a dominant showing in South Dakota two weeks ago, leading the team score by 27 points over Wayzata High School from Minnesota. This is an improvement upon their runner-up finish from the 2022 installment of NXR Heartland Regional.
Lineup:
_(1).jpg)
Nora Gremban
Recently announcing her commitment to join the Badgers of the University Wisconsin - Madison next fall, Nora Gremban is looking to end her high school cross country campaign on a high note this weekend following her third-place finish at NXR Heartland Regional. This finish was an incredible improvement upon her twenty-ninth-place finish along with a time improvement of over 50 seconds compared to last year's performance.
She is going to be joined by fellow Heartlanders Norah Hushagen, Katelyn Rupe, Libby Castelli, Anjali Hocker Singh, and Izzy Schmitz along with the ladies from Wayzata and Olathe West this weekend at the starting line in Portland.
_(1)_(1).jpg)
Manny Putz
Officially getting onto the radar of the competition after his runner-up finish and WI #1 All-Time at NXR Heartland Regional with a breakout performance of 14:32.10, Manny Putz is one for us to look forward to as he now staples himself as one of the top boys in the entire country leading into this weekend. He won't be alone though as he will be joined by a slew of sub-14:40 guys from the Heartland Region which include Robert Mechura, Juan Gonzalez, Sam Scott, and Clay Shively along with the boys from Wayzata and fellow Wisconsin natives from Stevens Point.
It's going to be an exciting one this weekend, and good luck #TeamWisconsin as they make the journey west to go toe-to-toe with some of the best around!
_(1).jpg)
_(1)_(1).jpg)